Kowal Reviews District, Awaits Her Evaluation

June 4, 1999|By KELLIE PATRICK Staff Writer

It's been a good school year, Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Joan Kowal says in her annual report.

Despite the more than 100 pages of good news she gathered from her three-year tenure, the superintendent could be facing the beginning of the toughest evaluation of her work since she has been with the district.

School Board members use Kowal's yearly analysis of herself and the district as they craft their own evaluation of her performance, which they'll do this month.

Kowal found many achievements to highlight in her report, including improved standardized test scores, new efforts to improve student performance, especially minority-student performance, and decreases in student incidents involving drugs, weapons and sexual harassment.But there has been a shift in the board since Kowal's last evaluation.

Art Johnson and Tom Lynch joined the board in November, and along with Jody Gleason, they regularly prod Kowal and school district staff with detailed questions on Kowal's recommendations, often tabling proposals or voting them down altogether at board meetings.

"A year ago, the district was more staff- and superintendent-run,'' Lynch said. "Now, it's going to be more board-run.''

Lynch said Kowal is in the difficult position of adjusting to a board that is taking control, and part of her evaluation will be based on how smooth that transition is going.

If board members evaluate Kowal similarly to the way they react to her recommendations, more than likely Johnson and Gleason would give her the lowest scores; Dorothy Montgomery the highest; and Paulette Burdick, Bill Graham, board Chairwoman Sandra Richmond and Lynch would fall in between.

Last year, Montgomery was the only board member to give Kowal a perfect score. Johnson and Gleason have been the most critical of Kowal this year.

Just Wed- nesday, Gleason questioned whether Kowal and some of her staff members were the right people for the jobs they hold. She was the only board member who said Kowal failed to meet her expectations on last year's review.

Johnson, a former long-time district principal, was promoted by Kowal to an area executive director's position, then she gave him the choice of a demotion or retirement in the wake of a discipline scandal that occurred at Spanish River High School while he was principal there.

Johnson has always maintained he would not let the past interfere with his relationship with Kowal as a board member.

Johnson on Thursday would not discuss his evaluation of Kowal, except to say he will base it on numbers that reflect student achievement or lack of it.

He said he would consider the statistics Kowal provided, but also would use some he has gathered on his own.

Some board members commended Kowal for providing more information to the board and public, improving working relationships with business and community leaders, improving focus on academic goals such as increasing literacy and better planning of construction projects.

But some board members also expressed concern that staff members weren't always providing them with the information they need in a timely fashion, including notifying them of the Department of Education's investigation of the district's Alternative Education Program.

Board members also were unhappy that the district is behind schedule on its five-year construction plan, the schedule that shows where and when schools will be built.

Burdick, who generally backs Kowal, said the district is behind on five projects. She is concerned that it could re-enter the era of public mistrust created when the district failed to build all the promised projects from a successful 1986 bond referendum.

Last year, Burdick and most of the board criticized Kowal for failing to communicate well. On Thursday, Burdick praised Kowal and district staff for becoming much more responsive when it comes to getting information to the board members and the public.

Parents and senior citizens who disagreed on the proposed location of a new middle school west of Boynton Beach didn't think so earlier this year. While the parents wanted the school to be built at El Clair Ranch and Woolbright roads and the seniors didn't, both sides said the district at times misled or failed to inform them.

In her report, Kowal highlights an ambitious new student achievement plan, Achievement Matters for All. The report, which draws heavily on a similar effort drawn up by the Coalition for Black Student Achievement, a black community group, also shows up when Kowal explains the district is budgeting its money based on academic goals.

While there has been a great deal of cooperation between the district and the minority community, much of it has been the result of minority parents and activists demanding attention for their children.

The Coalition for Black Student Achievement, for example, presented a plan to address inequities between black students and white students. Achievement Matters for All is virtually identical to that plan.

The district has attracted more community volunteers to the classroom than ever, and studies have shown that boosts student performance. This year, the district topped a million volunteer hours for the first time and doubled the number of business partnerships. The district and business leaders have also revitalized the Education Foundation, which will help raise money for the district.

Each board member will do an individual review of Kowal that will rate her as exceeding expectations, meeting expectations, or not meeting expectations in many categories.

Come June 23, each member will briefly discuss his or her reviews, then Richmond will weave them into a single document.

Kowal did not return requests for comment. Her secretary called to say she was tied up with meetings and graduations.

Kellie Patrick can be reached at kpatrick@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6629.